SugarCoated
by Synthetic Humanity
Summary: It just didn't make sense. He was the one doing this, and he was doing it to himself. He should be in control, he should be able to stop, but he couldn't. For once Artemis had no control, and that scared him.
1. Wednesdays Never Work

Disclamier:  
I don't own Artemis Fowl...or anything else that didn't evolve form the insanity and weirdness that is my mind, ifI did, thid would be in a book store instead of online...

**Summary **

It just didn't make sense. He had no rational reason for doing this, surely there were other ways to vent, but why this? He was the one doing this, and he was doing it to himself. He should be in control, he should be able to stop, but he couldn't. For once Artemis had no control, and that scared him.

**-wednesday's never work-  
  
**

**Wensday, November 22nd**

Running, as if something monstrous was chasing him, was a young man, barely 15. His piercing sapphire eyes frantic, searching for a way out, as raven strands cascaded in front of his face, sucessfully imparing his vision. He turned a sharp corner, his speed increasing. It was weird the school was never _this_ empty, it was the middle of class but there was always somebody in the halls. _'The joys of pubilic school, they'd never give a damn about anybody, unless its for personal gain. Oh, the irony.' _He might have laughed if it were't for his emotionless demeanor. He had been the same once, and still was in some ways, though he had never been, and would never be, so pathetic in his reasoning behind his, 'selfish desires'. "_Insolent fools," _he mentally scoffed "_what does it matter if you part of the 'in' crowd, in a few years its not gonna matter. You'll never have to see this, too put it nicely, 'hellhole' again so why care so much? Truly pathetic." _

He reached his destination and locked himself inside a bathroom stall. Fumbling through his back-pack he found what would aid him in his real purpose for coming. He stared at his reflection in the small peice of metal for a moment before proceeding to do what he came here to do. Letting out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, he pressed the razor into his skin, and draged it across his forearm. The little drops of blood that had appeared where the razor had been merged into a slow flow of crimson liquid. He sighed in a depressed manner, looking at all the scars. Old and recent cuts that decorated his arm. _Why?_ his mind echoed_ I'm stronger than this, I'm Artemis Fowl for goodness sake! I've done things most humans wouldn't dare to even dream of, why would I lower myself to-to...this?_

He put his head in his hands, he would't allow himself to cry, it just make things worse. Artemis never let anyone see him cry if he could help it, and if he cried, in school of all places, he'd be seen in a second. People loved to see him weak, he was the rich kid with the 'im-better-than-you attitude that everybody hated, and how could he blame them?After all it _was_ true, he wasn't exactly the greatest person. But he had always been this way, he had a right to didn't he, he was a genuis after all. A master theif, Artemis Fowl II had always come out on top, and now he was reduced to this. Artemis laughed, things had been very diffrent as of late. Butler had retried, in a way, he was still Artemis' body guard but Artemis refused to put Butler in the line of fire, not after what happened last time.

Though, Artemis hadn't given up on his criminal life, in fact, even though he had tried, the more he pushed it away the more he needed it. He just gave up on going legit, crime was much too fun to give up anyway. He still got calls from Holly on occasion, to help with cases hear and there, he hadn't heard from the elfin girl in weeks. He missed her, in fact he miss all of his 'fairy freinds'. Of course its wasn't as if he could visit them, Haven was pretty far away and he was considered somewhat of a threat under the world. No Artemis wasn't insane, he was insanely brilliant but not psyco ward insane. In the earths core instead of white hot molten rock, Haven city of the fairy-folk, lies. Okay so mabye he was insane, but Haven was a real place either way, and he was not the only human to have been there.

Artemis Fowl had gone through more in the last few years than most did in their life span. He 'discovered' the fairies, battled trolls, brought down the imfamous Opal Kobi twice, nearly died on several occasions, had his memoried wiped and restored, befriended the ex-LEP Captain, Holly Short, the theif Mulch, and the brilliant, though somewhat childish, inventer Foaly (all of the former reside in Haven), and caused quite a few problems for their people. It just didn't make sense. He had no rational reason for doing this, surely there were other ways to vent, but why this? He was the one doing this, and he was doing it to himself. He should be in control, he should be able to stop, but he couldn't. For once Artemis had no control, and that scared him. Before he had time to finish this slight meditation, the bell rang. _I really hate wednesdays... _

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**review, flame honestly I don't care  
I just want to know whether or not this totally sucks**

**please&_thank_you**


	2. The Begining Of The End

Disclamier: I don't own Artemis Fowl--hey...I did this already, losers...-.-''  
**  
Recap  
**  
It just didn't make sense. He had no rational reason for doing this, surely there were other ways to vent, but why this? He was the one doing this, and he was doing it to himself. He should be in control, he should be able to stop, but he couldn't. For once Artemis had no control, and that scared him. Before he had time to finish this slight, meditation, the bell rang._ I really hate wednesdays..._  
**  
End Recap **

**-the begining of the end-**

**Wednesday Nov. 22  
**  
_  
_**Fowl Manor**

**3:26  
**Artemis Fowl II was shocked to say the least, at the sight of his father hunched of they limp body of his mother, crying. Blood was every were. At first the initial shock had prevented him from realizing the magnitude of the situation, then something in his mind clicked. Blue eyes widened as a gun shot echoed through the manor. The lifeless form of Artemis Fowl senior hit the floor with a thud. Artemis stood in disbelief, for the first time in his life he had wanted to cry, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Somewhere his name was called, light and sound became one, and he fell to the ground, darkness edging in his vision.

**3:47**

Artemis awoke with a start, Butler was on the phone, talking to someone about bodies. Reality came crashing down on him and nuclear bomb when off in his chest, he felt sick. Butler hung up the phone and walked over to the wide eyed teen. "Artemis..." he said barely above a whisper. His head nodded but as he tried to regain whatever rational thought he could manage. The giant put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, as if to say everything will be okay when it was an obvious lie, nothing would be okay. Artemis had a distant look on his face, he barely noticed that Butler had walked off to deal with the coroner.

**4:25**

Flames had always been calming to Artemis--just the movement of the flame, not the fire itself, it worked with waves as well-- though candles seemed a bit out of place amongst the latest technology. Artemis just stared at the flame deep in thought. _Why didn't I see this coming? I could have stopped it from happening it could have_-- the flame flickered purple for a second interrupting the boys thoughts -_it doesn't matter the point is that they're dead, my fault_... Dried blood cracked when his arm moved, a reminder of what had taken place mere moments ago. He blew out the candle. _Candles may be calming, but it doesn't help the pain..._ His mind went blank as his eyes looked for something to rest upon. A mirror, when had been the last time he had looked in one? He couldn't remember, he look so different, his eyes dead and his face blank, his hair was disheveled, he looked paler than ever, and instead of designer suits he wore something slightly, different. A solid black zipper-up hoodie and loose fit jeans, an At the Drive-in band tee shirt which was almost completely hidden, and Vans shoes. Not exactly what people had come to expect from Artemis, but with Artemis is was safe to expect the unexpected. A sudden melody exploded into the room, Artemis would have been quick to react if he hadn't been in such a trance.

_I'll lay me down tonight _

_Much further down_

_Swim in the calm tonight_

_This art does drown  
_

He blinked, once, twice. "shit." He swore, having recently picked up the bad habit of doing that. Artemis desperately searched for the source of the sound, tearing apart his room in the process. Very, very frustrating, how could he have been so careless, so absentminded? Those were not words associated with his name.

_What follows, me as the whitest lace of light _

_Will swallow whole, just begs to be imbrued_

_What follows has lead me to this place_

_Where I belong, with all erased_

_What follows  
_

Artemis sighed in an irritated manner, he knew who was calling and he knew that he would be pestered about the song, so it wasn't exactly what you'd think he'd listen to, but when had he ever done anything that was fell under the category of 'predictable'? _I don't have time for this, not now... _

_All insects sing tonight_

_The coldest sound_

_I'd send God's grace tonight_

_Could it be found?_

_What follows, me as the whitest lace of light _

_Will swallow whole, just begs to be imbrued_

_What follows has lead me to this place_

_Where I belong, with all erased_

_What follows_

Now he was, for lack of a better word, pissed off, okay words... "Where did I put the bloody thing!" Artemis yelled, trying to contain his frustration, it was becoming increasingly apparent that he was failing badly in his attempts_. Think, Artemis think! where did you have it last--I am such an idiot... _

_I'll lay me down tonight_

_Much further down_

_Watch stars go out tonight_

_On sinking groun--_

"Hello?" Asked a rather annoyed Artemis. The voice on the other end just laughed.

"Interesting song choice." You didn't need to see her face to know that she was smirking, music was one of the few thing that could get under Artemis' skin.

Artemis groaned inwardly, running his hand through his hair, why did she have to call now? "This is not the time Holly."Sadness he had hope to hide given away by his voice.

There was a slight pause in the other end as Holly debated with herself. "Artemis, whats wrong?" She asked quietly, concern evident in her voice.

For a minute he didn't say anything, Holly sighed, just as she was about to speak when he said something that she barely managed to hear.  
"What?" she asked

"Their...d-dead" He choked out, mental hitting himself, Artemis Fowl did not stutter.

"what?" Holly said for the second time, a feeling of dread consumed her.

"My-" Artemis took a breath and calmed himself "My parents, their dead" his voice devoid of all emotion

"W-what?" There was that word damned again "How?" Holly stuttered.

"My mother was covered in blood and my father was over her crying, I think he might have killed her, he had a gun in his hands..." Artemis trailed off images replaying in his head.

Holly was silent, what could she say? What do you stay to someone who lost that much that quickly?

"He took the gun to his head and shot himself, I was standing there the whole time."

Holly's eyes widen, she swallowed her words, she was too shocked, she couldn't comprehend anything more than his voice.

"I could have stopped him,"

_No, you couldn't have Artemis this isn't your fault. _Holly's mind screamed but words were lost to her. She felt like crying, but she would never let Artemis see her cry. She was too proud.

"Its all my fault" He flat out said it, flawlessly monotone and yet you could tell he was in pain.

Holly was silent, she probably hated him right now, he couldn't blame her, he hated himself too.

"...its not your fault" Holly whispered, wishing this was just a dream, no this wasn't a dream, dreams are never this horrible. Dreams don't cause this much pain. This was no dream, she was living in a nightmare.

Artemis laughed. He just _laughed_.

"I was there Holly, I could have stopped him, but I didn't."

Holly was about to respond when her screen spilt in two.

**

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yeah, its not a happy story**

**oh, and incase your wondering  
the song is **Girls not grey** by **AFI

**review please! **


	3. Old And Hidden

Disclamier: okay, last time I'm doing this...I don't own Artemis Fowl, blah blah blah. If I did, then you'd be paying money to read this.

**Recap**

"...its not your fault" Holly whispered, wishing this was just a dream, no this wasn't a dream, dreams are never this horrible, they don't cause this much pain. This was no dream, it was a living nightmare.

Artemis laughed. He just _laughed_.  
"I was there Holly, I could have stopped him, but I didn't"

Holly was about to respond when her screen spilt in two.

**End Recap**

**.-old and hidden-. **

**Fowl Manor - one week later**

It never used to be so complicated. Well, yes it was complicated, but in a completely different way. It wasn't complex planning, cracking codes, or committing acts of theft without flaw, those things Artemis found rather easy. They were a second nature to him, but this was not. Artemis always kept his emotions locked away, so his enemies wouldn't use them against him. At one point he may have forgotten how to feel, and now he wish he never remembered. It hurt too much, and he didn't even know why. Maybe he had some kind of clinical depression or borderline personality disorder, maybe he just need to see a shrink. Artemis doubted that some man behind a desk could solve his problems, whatever they were, and he certainly didn't need pills messing with his head. He had his own kind of therapy, it wasn't the best method but at least he didn't kill himself. Not yet anyway. Artemis didn't know how long it would last, how long it would take until he gave up. That didn't sound like him at all, giving up. Emotions, in his opinion, were nothing but trouble. They only brought pain and occasional happiness, it wasn't worth it. A now he was contemplating suicide? He didn't know how people could have survived with them for this long. He let out a sigh, maybe he wasn't supposed to know, maybe he was supposed to hurt. After all the pain he cause others, he deserved it. Artemis scoffed at his own thought, this self pity was really getting on his nerves.

Artemis' was wrenched from is thoughts by the sound of foot steps. He tried to fade, to blend with the shadows so that he would be left alone. He didn't need their sympathy, he didn't need their pity. He hated being pitied, and self pity, in his opinion, was even worse. He pushed those thoughts away, he didn't have time to argue with himself right now. Someone was heading his way and if he was seen, well, lets just say the incident would not end up in his favor. The foot steps paused, looking in through the door way. "Artemis?" a voice called out as Artemis mentally cursed this, he had been seen. The was no point in hiding now, he'd figured it better to salvage whatever dignity he had left. There was a chance that she hadn't realized he was hiding from--"I can see you there's no point in hiding."--never mind. He sighed "What do you want Juliet?" Though he face was darken to the point where it looked alien, he could still make out the ghost of a smile gracing her lips. "And I wasn't hiding, I happen to like the dark, for you information." The girl let out a soft snicker. "I can see that Artemis, the only light you ever seem happy about, is the one made by you computer. Artemis glared at her, she could be rather irritating at times. Another sigh, this time from the girl.

She shook her head, lose strands of hair flying every where, gracing the tiled floor with a dance of shadows. "Apathetic as always, " she tried to resist the urge to smile, it seemed like the boy was finally getting back to his old self. "Wouldn't expect any less for the great Artemis Fowl." This time the smile won out, freezing her face for a bitter-sweet reunion, only to falter at the boy's next statement. "I would hardly consider myself to be great Juliet, what I'm good at is nothing to be proud of..." The girl blinked knowing that he wasn't quite finished, but when he remained silent she asked the question she knew she'd regret. "Okay so what you do isn't exactly legal but--" She was cut off by the sound of laughter. She was more shocked than startled, she hadn't heard him laugh since he was a small child, and even then it was a rare occurrence. "I wasn't referring to that Juliet, though it does fit." He smiled, vampiric and malicious. That was about the only kind of smile you could get out of him, and it was far from wanted. "Everything I touch I ruin. I'm not a good person, even if its indirectly everything I do results in pain. Everything I touch is hurt. Don't try to tell me otherwise, for me this is the only truth, everything else is just wishful thinking, and you know it."

The boy got up and walked past the statue of a girl, frozen with the weight of what had just been said. She came to her senses in time to ask on final question, as pointless as it may been. She swiftly turned around, feeling so much smaller in the mastermind's shadow. "Where are you going?" The boy looked over his shoulder and uttered one word. "Out." With that he left the girl. His silhouette remain after, slowly creeping out of the door only to shrink in the dim glow that lied beyond. Juliet stood there, unmoving till the sounds of his foot steps faded away into nothingness. She cursed, kicking something that did not exist while glaring at the door frame. "Goddamn it Artemis why do you always do this?" her almost-silent statement was swallowed by silence, nobody around to reply.

A red light blinked in the corner,slight hum and grinding noises were made as the machine move to capture ever moment. It went unnoticed by the girl as she slumped to the floor, hugging her legs and propping her chin upon her knees. She went through the motions of a sigh before closing her eyes and muttering something to her self, all the while retaining the poise and grace of a strait-jacketed person in a cozy padded cell, a convict condemned to the prison of their own mind. An ever-watching eye catching every moment of it without flaw. A larger man watched from the other side of the building, his face remaining ever-so placid and apathetic as his eyes flickered with and unsettling worry.The eye focused on the girls lips, as if trying to read her ramblings. The man turned his face upward, the flickering light of seemingly endless monitors flashed on his face.Then, darkness.

The soft clicking of shoes was drowned out by the pounding of rain. The sky was mocking him, its tears of laughter fell in drops to large to imply anything but a flood fell from its eyes. The wind bit at his face and made his already wet and messy hair even more disheveled. His clothes clung to him, soaked to the point where they had almost become a second skin and his eyes reflected the storm in unnatural perfection as he looked up into the sky. _Perfect day for a walk, weather couldn't be better. _A forked whip that was lighting struck the sky with unrelenting force, creating a moment of pure light on one extremely grey day. _I hate you.

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_

**Mer.  
****sorry about the...long wait?  
yeah. that works.  
oh! and the typos :)  
please forgive and review!**


	4. To Whom It May Or May Not Concern

**Recap**

His clothes clung to him, soaked to the point where they had almost become a second skin and his eyes reflected the storm in unnatural perfection as he looked up into the sky._ Perfect day for a walk, weather couldn't be better_. A forked wip that was lighting struck the sky with unrelenting force, creating a moment of pure light on one extremly grey day.  
_I hate you. _

**end Recap**

**.-to whom it may or may not concern-.**

**Some soon-to-flooded street in Ireland**

His body was convulsing in spasms of shivers. The rain had only succeeded in falling hard and faster since he had left. A fog thicker than the earth had set in, he could barely see an arms length in front of him. Artemis guessed that he had been wandering blindly for a good half hour. His shoes where ruined, the water had gather to the point where it has risen to a good 5 inches, and was slowly but steadily rising. He Doubting that he'd be able to make it back home before he was blinded and half-numb with cold, he decided to stay at the next available place he happened upon. He pulled his hood up, though it was just as soaked as him it would serve to hide his face.

Unfortunately for him, it happened to be a motel that was beneath even sub-standard settings. The clerk's beady eyes were half hidden in the fat of his face, his clothes were only out-dated by his comb-over. Artemis paid for one nights stay in a cheap room, having little money on his person he could afford no better. When he saw his grimy little shack of a room, he knew he'd be sleeping roaches among other things provided insomnia didn't grace him with its presence. The paint on the walls was cracked, pealing and caked in stains that looked suspiciously like various combinations of dirt and blood that had been pressed deep into the wall in a backfired attempt to clean off the stain. The mattress was lumpy, its sheets, tattered and discolored, looked as if they had never been washed. The floor was adorned with a good inch of filth that had been collected since opening day, and the window was boarded up allowing a strange and foul scent to permeate the room. "Lovely..." he said, his voice lacked emotion, and his eyes told that he truly didn't care about the conditions of the room. It was better than sleeping in muddy water.

The wind howled causing the boards on the window to shriek with fright. The room was consumed by an errie blackness as the night crept into him. Artemis lied awake, staring at a sealing his eyes couldn't reach. Shouts, limping feet, and all the other noises of a fight were heard, echoing from a room down the hall. The muffled sound of gun fire, more shouts, then foot steps that grew louder and fainter, as if they couldn't choose which way to go, lost in a labyrinth of halls and doors. There was a knocking at the door next to his, and shouts that beckoned the occupant of the room to allow entry. Artemis rolled to his side and cursed the fact the he had no pillow to muffle the noise. The sound of pounding stopped only to begin again, this time at his door. Now the man was begging him for sanctuary. Artemis groaned. More foot steps coming towards him. Then a scream fallowed shortly by a the slamming of a body into his door. Artemis sat up. The sound of gun fire exploded into his room as a bullet flew past Artemis's forehead, causing a prickling sensation. He wiped his head clean of blood. The sound of a lifeless body hitting the floor was followed by the sound of foot steps. Artemis sighed, maybe now he could get some sleep.

**  
Thursday, Nov. 30**

Artemis awoke early and aching. Artemis stood up and walked to the door, kicking the bullet shells as he walked. When he open the door he noticed that the body had been moved and that his shoes were standing in a puddle of nearly drying blood. _Still fresh, must have bled to death... _his thoughts wandered to his ruined shoes, he had no sympathy for the unknown dead. He walked down the hall leaving faded crimson shoe imprints of bloody until the remainder had been grounded into his shoes. He tossed his room key on the front desk and left the shabby motel, sighing at what he saw. The night had not willed the rain to stop but the wind had destroyed the fog, though the amount of water on the roads had lessened. It wasn't until noon when he figured out where he was, and by then the fog had returned, though in a lesser amount than it had been the previous day. Several times he had nearly had the displeasure of becoming road kill, and every time the drivers would yell at him as they drove by, speed increasing.

Artemis sighed, he was in no hurry to arrive home to a pointless lecture on how careless he had been from butler. The old body guard should have realized that Artemis never heard a word. Maybe he knew he was being tuned out, but just liked the sound of his own voice. Whatever the case Artemis was not looking forward to it. It wasn't until about one twenty that he looked upon the Fowl manor with a slight frown. He really would have hated the look of that house as he walked up to the tall doors, if he had seen fit to look at it instead of past it.

He pushed open the doors, no Butler, no Juliet, non sign of life period. He didn't know if that was a good or a bad thing, either way he didn't care, he was off the hook, for the moment. "Where did you go?" _of course... _he turned to the source of the voice, and Holly phased into existence with a smirk. "What brings you here, Ms. Short?" He said, his face and eyes without and trace of emotion. "I'm just checking in, but you evading the question." Her smirk tainted her eyes with a silent laughter, or was Artemis just imagining that part? "Even if I knew, Ms.Short, my business is hardly any concern of yours." Her smirk grew wider and Artemis had an insane urge to claw it off her face. "Well, I'm making it my concern, Artemis, and I seriously doubt that you, of all people, wouldn't know something as simple as that." Artemis glared at her _maybe I should get rid of that smirk... _"I assure you, it is the truth." she just kept on smiling. "That can't be the only reason your here, Ms.Short, you wouldn't have traveled so far just to check in?" she laughed. "Why can't I just be checking in, why can't I just be coming here to say hi?" "Because, Ms.Short, nothing is ever that simple." She rolled her eyes. "Well, it is. and since when do you call me Miss Short?" Artemis raised an eyebrow at her comment,"Does it really matter, Ms.Short?" she sighed "I need to hit you or something..." she muttered. "Just stop calling me that." it was more of and order than a statement and Artemis resented that.

Artemis turned around "Whatever." that one word was enough to stop Holly in her tracks. Artemis just walked away. Holly blinked and followed him. "Who are you and what have you done with Artemis?" Her attempt to make a joke only received glared from him, he walked faster. "Well, Artemis, your hospitality is unmatched." Holly's voice was suffocated by a thick coat of sarcasm. Artemis, ignoring her completely, continued walking faster, though Holly always matched his pace. The elf frowned but remain silent until she noticed something strange. "Artemis, is-is that, blood on your shoes?" Artemis gave nothing more than a glance. Holly was about to ask again when he sighed. "Yes, Ms.Sh-_Holly_." Holly blinked, about to ask more when Artemis stopped so suddenly she continued on for about 8 feet before noticing. He opened a door that she hadn't noticed.

"What are you doing" She asked, heading back towards him. "If you didn't notice, its raining out side and I just so happen to be soaked." Holly blinked, embarrassed that she hadn't noticed sooner. "So, not too be rude but I would like to change, and unless you want to watch.." Artemis shut the door behind him, not giving her time to speak.

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**-.-**

**if there are typos in this chapter,  
please, feel free to shoot me or something...**

**please review :)**


	5. A Masquerade Of Dying

**  
guess what?  
i fixed the typos :)  
every single one ofthem.  
so, be proud or something.****

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Recap**

"What are you doing," She asked, heading back towards him. "If you didn't notice, its raining out side and I just so happen to be soaked." Holly blinked, embarrassed that she hadn't noticed sooner. "So, not too be rude but I would like to change, and unless you want to watch..." Artemis shut the door behind him, not giving her time to speak.

**end Recap  
**

**.-a masquerade of dying-.  
**

**ThursdayNov. 30**

_"Artemis..." _a throbbing pain shot through his head, who was calling him? _"Artemis..." _laughter, not his, it was familiar, too familiar but he could not place it. Vague pastel colors blurred his vision, or was his vision blurring the images? Did that even make sense? The colors twisted and transformed, slowly becoming blurred shapes. "Artemis, hurry up!" Distant banging,the pounding of angry fist on wood,the image was vaporized. He awoke, coated in sweat, pain, and confusion. He, for a moment was lost, trying to reach back into, whatever he had just fallen out of. His attempts failed and only served to make his head hurt worse. It took him a minute to remember where he was, what he was doing, and what had awoken him. "Just a dream..." he whisper to himself, slightly annoyed at having been awoken. "only a dream..." a shout made his ear ring like church bells, and his head ache much, much worse. "Artemis!" he groaned, and rubbed his head, figuring that he must have passed out while changing. _Well, that would explain the fact that I'm in my closet..._ he stood up shakily,"Would it kill you to be, oh, I don't know, _patient_ for once in your life, Ms.Short?" He half growled, half sighed at the door, as he pulled on a random, and plain, shirt and a pin-stripped suit style jacket, both black. The way Artemis kept his clothes, they might have been able to pass as suits that had been tweaked, altered to fit its master's needs, instead of jeans and cotton shirt that he opted to wear under some kind of jacket. Another stab of pain. _I'm guessing this is what a hang over feels like.._ The banging stopped, only to be replaced with an irritated voice, "Maybe it would, smart-ass." Artemis rolled his eyes, and pushed open the door, nearly knocking over Holly. He smirked, "Smooth, Ms. Short, very smooth." She glared at him. "Fuck. You." a smirk, Holly short was ever-so confident that he wouldn't have a response to that. "Not even in nightmares." Artemis replied in a tone that seemed to be made of ice. Holly blinked, not really expecting any sort of comeback for him, and not liking the fact that she had been wrong, then glared again. "So, what was it that you wanted?" Holly quirked an eyebrow, offering no further reply. Artemis mirrored the gesture with the utmost perfection. She scoffed, her voice irritated and low, "You know, for a kid who spends his time avoiding emotions, you sure know how to read people." Artemis just blinked, uncaring, "Well, are you going to tell me or not?" "Well what do you think, after all you are the smart one." sarcasm is a virtue. Still showing no emotion other than the mocking tone of his voice, Artemis replied "I think you need my help on some case so you don't loose another client, and yes I am the smart one, Ms. Short, how kind of you to notice." Holly glared, the increasing venom in her voice would burn the insides of most peoples ears. Unfortunately for her, this was Artemis and he was certainly not most people. "I really hate you sometimes." Artemis gave a slight smile that was far from happy. _You should hate me..._ he mentally slapped himself and quickly removed the smile from his, the elf was none the wiser. Invisibility had its perks.

Holly began to tell Artemis about her latest case, it was something about gang wars, homicides and needing to take out the leaders or something, he wasn't really listening. Artemis blinked, "Isn't this the kind of thing LEP deals with?" Holly grinned. "Exactly." Artemis raised an eyebrow. Holly just continued to grin. "And they need you why?" Holly's grin faltered a bit and she hit his arm. Hard. Hard enough to re-open a few old, and new for that matter, wounds. Artemis flinched, unwillingly. "Artemis, your such a wimp." _Ah, insults, no pity, couldn't ask for more. _Artemis gripped his arm in an attempt to keep the blood to a minimum. Nobody could ever know. "And you are, Ms.Short, are a cornucopia of kindness." Holly rolled her eyes, he was trying to annoy her. "They need me because I'm one of the best there is when it comes to stealth, and I'm the best shot." Artemis gave her an and-your-point-is look before speaking, "But thats besides the point, Its very odd, that Stool would allow you on this case. He pretty much hates you after all." Holly grinned again, "Stool has been stripped of his command, turns out that he had a dirty little secret." Artemis opened his mouth to speak but Holly cut him off, "Trouble is in charge now, and he's doing a much better job than Stool ever could," Holly smirked, "He admits when he needs a little help from..."she began only to pause and stare at the pale boy with a strange and unsettling look on her face. "um, Artemis your head's bleeding" _Shit. _Artemis slowly removed his hand from his arm and brought it up to his forehead. "Just a scratch..." He trailed off, remembering the bullet from the night before, confused as to why it had began to bleed again. Artemis wiped some of the blood off and let his arm drop. It didn't help much, he could feel the liquid flowing slowly down his forehead."Well its bleeding alot for a scratch. Here let me fix that."

Holly lifted a hand, so that she might heal the 'scratch', but Artemis took a step back. "Sheesh, its not like I'm going to bite you, just let me heal it..." Artemis just took another step. "I'm fine." He said in a way that implied there was no room for compromise. Holly gave a half hearted shrug. "Fine, bleed, but I still want to know where you got it, it looks like..." Holly trailed off in thought, lower her gaze so that it might search the floor for answers. Her eye traveled back and forth in an erratic motion. "Like what?" Artemis asked, not wanting her to know about a bullet, or rather bullets, that were not meant for him. He wiped his head again, and chewed his lip until he realized just what he was doing and .She was once one of the LEP, and was therefor no stranger to weapons. And, besides, after all thats happened, she might think that it was self inflicted even if he denied it. Not that the idea of a bullet to the head wasn't appealing to Artemis, but it was much too quick. He'd rather go out slower, with more time for pain. There were so many beautiful ways in which he could dispose of himself. _Not like I deserve anything less than to suffer--No. No bad thoughts, not now. _He cursed under his breath, it was as if he thought the elf would know everything that he had worked so hard to hide by reading his thought. His paranoia was beginning to be a bad thing. The last thing he need was for anybody to kno--"Like you were shot at." _I really need to invest in band-aids..._ "Holly I can assure you that I was not shot at" This shut Holly up, for about two seconds. Two blissful second which Artemis thought ended much too soon"Well then how did you get it?" Artemis glared at her with the intensity of a fire storm. "Aren't you supposed to be telling me about your case?" A combination of a scowl and a deep frown latched itself on to the short girls face, showing no sign of letting go anytime soon. She tucked a loose strand of aburn hair behind her pointed ear. "Your avoiding the question." Artemis didn't budge, "So? Doesn't change why you came here." Holly sighed in a defeated manner. "Do you really need to know everything?" Artemis blinked as if he did not understand the question. "Of course I need to know everything, even the littlest thing could come back to bite us if given the chance." Holly began to tell him everything she knew, and Artemis subconsciously cataloged the information, allowing the rest of his mind to wander to other things. Things that contained a much darker nature. Holly never noticed the far away look in his eyes, she had better things to do.

Artemis was pulled from his thoughts abruptly when Holly asked him a question that didn't fit with her explanation. "What?" He asked her, still slightly dazed.He had really only grasped about a third of the question. The boy's eye darted around, trying to figure out where he was.She just laughed, the scowl-frown falling from her face with ease. "Never mind, it wasn't like it was important anyway." Artemis raised an eyebrow, he seemed to be doing that alot lately, but didn't press the matter further. "So, are you in or what?" Artemis offered a scowl and a dark glance, "I'll do it, but no more questions, understand?" Holly was a bit fazed by the anger in his voice, he had seemed annoyed, but not nearly this angry. Well, he didn't need to show much anger for it to be shocking, after all he was normally monotone and emotionless. Or at least he tried to be. "And next time you deicide you want to visit, call instead." He pushed her out into the rain, leaving no room for argument or any other action as the door slammed. Holly fell into a thick puddle, wishing she could strangle the mud boy. She flicked a bit of the substance from her hand, she realized that she was coated in the thick liquid. Mud. "Oh, the irony."

**Haven**

"Are you** _serious?_**" Laughter. Insane, mocking laughter. If there was one thing Holly hated, it was being made a fool of. _"Yes..."_ the elf hissed, waves of anger seeming to flow from her, drowning the room in perpetual spite. "What, I ask you, could possibly make me say anything this demeaning unless it was true?" She should have changed before she came to the OPs booth. The rain was coming down hard, she figured that the mud would have washed off, and most of it did. She just didn't take into account the fact that her clothes would attach themselves to her as if they would disintegrated if they separated from her body, or that there would still be some stain left by the drowning dirt. If she had changed he wouldn't have asked, with nothing to hint for such a question. Then maybe she could have left out her heart wrenching departure from the manor. And the fact that the centaur wouldn't stop laughing, even after she slapped and threatened him several times, wasn't helping matters much. "Shut**_up_ **Foaly." He still laughed, tears forming at his eyes. What was so funny about her misfortune? She half hoped that he would laugh himself to death, or at least a coma. _What have I done to deserve--no, we're not going there._ "Okay, okay." he breathed the words slowly and with some effort, wiping his eyes clear of tears, panting, gasping for breath. "but you have to admit it is funny." Holly scowled and the room got tenser. "Its not funny." She insisted with all the malice she could muster. Foaly just laughed again, "Not to you, at least not yet." The elf grasped a random object and hurled it at the centaur. It hit him hard right in the face. The impact with a beautiful noise that resembled the sound of a metal support beam pounding into wet bone, bone drench with blood. Holly flinched and the fell over, convulsing on the floor, a red imprint the promised a bruise that would last a week or so. It, for some reason, reminded Holly of a dying spider, as what little life it had left leaked from its crushed body. Absolutely lovely. "Ow..." one word, not much but it made the girl smirk. "You know, it can be really painful to be around you." Holly just stood their smirking at the scowl on Foaly's face, then, after sticking out her tongue in childish mockery, she offered a hand to help him up.

"So, he's going to help." Holly shrugged passively. "He said he would, but it was odd, I don't think he was over joyed at the idea." Foaly just stared at her, as if to say something along the lines of 'so, whats your point?'. Holly hated looks like that. "What, I mean its his kind of thing, you think he wouldn't be such a jerk about it." Foaly smirked "So thats why he pushed you?" Holly glared and Foaly raised his hands, hoping the gesture would get her to calm down, or atleast. "Holly, come on, who thought he'd be so childish?" Holly backed down but the tension in the room was as thick as ever. "What do you mean?" Foaly smiled, "Well, think about it. He pushed you out, because he was 'forced' to do something he didn't want to do." Holly untensed a bit. "Childish." Foaly repeated. "Is just not something you think he'd do, thats the whole hilarity of the situation, nothing to do with you as the victim." Foaly laughed nervously. Holly just nodded, believing what he said but also know that he was laughing harder because she was the one that ended up coated in mud. "Its just so--" she let out a noise that was similar to a muffled scream. "--infuriating! I mean I didn't even do anything to him!" She fell back into a random chair, "I mean, I treated him normal, if anything I was _too_ nice, too patient. He can be such an asshole sometimes." Foaly stood there, smiling as always "Are you done." Holly blinked and smiled "Yeah I'm done, all angered-out." Holly rubbed the back her head in embarrassment."Oh, and sorry about the head injury." Foaly blinked then frowned, "You know you didn't have to aim so high, you hit my face. Now its going to be bruised."_ Pouting, should have seen that one coming..._ Foaly sighed, "Next time, hurt the mud boy, _please._ Whenever your angry it seems to always turn out bad for me." Holly shook her head, some things would never change. Foaly paused in his complaints, "You know," Foaly began, "from what you told me, it seemed like the mud boy was trying to make you mad, like he wanted you to hate him or something." Holly looked at the centaur, then lowered her eyes in thought. "But...why would he do that...?" Foaly just shrugged. "How should I know what goes on in his head?"

**Fowl manor - shortly after Holly...left.**

"Well, that was rude." Juliet stood, hand on her hips, and a mocking smile on her face. Artemis glanced over at the girl, his eyes unblinking and full of ice, "So?" Juliet laughed, and rolled her eyes. _This, is going to be harder than I thought._ Both of them had the same thought at almost the same moment save a split second delay. "So?" She looked at him oddly "So apologize, say your sorry." she laughed again, Artemis failed to see why the situation was funny. "Why?" Artemis knew what she meant, but he managed to make it appear otherwise. "Because, what you did was totally asinine and childish, words that don't describe you." she was glaring at him now, _Mood swings suck._ Artemis open his mouth to offer a reply, when Juliet's cell phone rang. She scowled, and picked it up.

"Hello?" her voice was sweet, sugary as Japanese candy, and faker than a well planned con. The girls eye widened and she turned her back to Artemis. "What, why--_How did this...?_" I she trailed off, listening intensely, as if the voice on the other end held the key to some dark secret that could change reality as we know it. "Is..is he okay?" Artemis knew who the call was about, and that it would not end well. "No...no, no that--you're lying you have to be!" Juliet fell to her knees and cried.She nodded before she realized that the voice on the other end couldn't see her. "Yes..." Her voice sounded so weak. She hung up the phone and closed her fist tightly around the phone, Artemis placed a hand on her shoulder. "Artemis," she sniffed, tears still flowing, show no sign of stopping. "Theres been an accident, and-and..." More sobs, Artemis bent down, and lifted the crying girls head to face him. "he was shot, Artemis, he-he's..." the tears doubled, and she latched on to Artemis. "Why, why did it have to be him, Artemis, why him?" Juliet sobbed into his shoulder, staining the material with tears and cosmetics. "I don't know Juliet, I don't know."

**A few hours later** Artemis was alone, and red diamond was slashed into his arm, _deep_, it was partially gouged out, though you could still see its shape, _deeper_. He didn't shed any tears, simply because he didn't know how. He still cried, but it was a bit different than normal tears. Relax, release. He laid back on the floor, not stopping the bleeding, not covering it with the jacket he had tossed to the side. Anybody could have just walked in and see everything, he didn't even lock the door. It was almost as if somebody was trying to take away everything Artemis had, killing just to hurt him. It was making to execute his machination as original planned. At least, there was less work to do now. At least he didn't have to see it happen this time. Artemis hated himself more for thinking this, he practically loathed himself already, and now he had more reason to.There was a knock at his door, and Artemis sat up in and extemporaneous manner, and pulled his jacket on in the time span of 2 seconds. "Artemis?" he sighed, it was probably extremely hard for Juliet to deal with this loss, the plan could wait. The girl had just lost virtually everything, he was pretty much all she had left. He wouldn't-no, he couldn't do that to her. He wasn't that evil, was he? "Yes?" a sob, Artemis figured his voice must sound colder went you've been stripped of so much. "Can-can I come in?" Artemis took a deep breath, "Yes." he tried to sound compassionate, but at the moment it was a hard task to accomplish. The door slid open soundlessly and Artemis realized, with some relief, that his room was very dark. Less light meant less of a chance that she'd notice the stains on the floor.

The girl was illuminated by the light from the hall, her crystalline eyes were wet and red from all the tears. And the lighting only served to shadow her eyes, making her appearance look more like a decaying corpse than a crying girl. "Thanks, this house is kind of empty..." she looked up from the floor, her eyes were still wet, but she managed a small smile, "And right now it feels like the emptiness is going to swallow me up." Artemis said nothing, but kept his eyes fixed on her shadow, which seemed to move even when Juliet remained motionless. "I know that must sound silly, but..." His eyes traveled upward, meeting her gaze. "It...scares me." Tears, slow tears. Artemis found it odd that Juliet would admit to being afraid, very odd. Even if he had chosen to speak, he wouldn't have known what to say. As the girl glided towards him, it seemed as it she were floating on air. The darkness added a certain grace to simple things and the light in the background cause objects to glow. Juliet looked like a goddess floating over a lake of darkness. The image was too surreal. The girl embraced the boy, crying once again. Unfortunately, he had been to busy with his thoughts, contemplating how the room--and Juliet--could look so other worldly, that he was unprepared for the extra weight, slight as it may have been. The two toppled to the floor in a tangled heap. Juliet smiled, then laughed. They remained that way for a while, Artemis silently staring up at the sealing, Juliet draped over the floor and Artemis, laughing and crying. It was as if the moment was repeating itself, over and over, like a broken record. An eternity passed before Juliet was gasping, out of breath, and the laughter stopped. She attempted to hug the boy, but the position they were in made it awkward. "Thank you." she whispered. "For what?" he was genuinely confused, for once in his life. The girl just smiled. "Does it really matter?" "No, I guess it doesn't." Juliet succumbed to sleep on top of the boy, but she woke up on his bed, covered by black satin sheets. Artemis was no where in sight. She stood up, and as she was leaving noticed a stain, which was odd considering this was Artemis' room, and he was a clean-freak by Juliet's standards. She gave it no more than a passing glance, it was faint and with all that has happen, he might not have noticed. Still it bothered her, but she shrugged it off. It was just a faded stain.

**Funeral, Sunday, Dec.3**

Artemis' parents had been cremated, and the had been no former formalities after that expect the memorial service which had been a very private event. There had been no burial, which is one of the most depressing events a person can witness outside of anything with the word 'mass' in front of it. The whole time Juliet just stood there in shock, trying not to cry. Artemis had told Holly, who had spent the first five minuets of the call, screaming at him, threatening him, and asking why she shouldn't hang up, it made it hard for Artemis to get a word in until _he_ yell at her, telling her to be quite. If Holly hadn't been shocked at the show of emotion, she would have killed him. He hung up on her shortly after that, telling her about the accident and the date of the burial. Her face paled and she stood there on there, mouth opening and closing like a fish gasping for water, only in much more frantic and exaggerated manner. He knew she was there, hiding from sight until the remainder of the mourners left. Who knew the big guy was so popular? Holly made her self known when only Artemis and Juliet remained. Juliet had broken down on Artemis for the third time just seconds after the last one left. Holly knelt beside the grave and stroked the coffin delicately as if it would break. Artemis gently nudged Juliet so that she would know that they were not alone. Juliet looked to the coffin and sniffed, "H-holly?" The elf turned her head as Juliet removed herself from Artemis, and embraced the elf, tears began to flow again. Artemis looked up. The sky was mocking him again, this time with a blinding blue and skies as clear as spring water, save one or two clouds that made ants seem like mountainous creatures that could block out the sun by raising their heads. It was a shame those ants were lazy. The sun was shining bright enough to burn the retinas of anybody who would be unfortunate enough to glance its way. Artemis unconsciously pulled up the sleeve of the arm he had carved the diamond into. He rubbed his arm, pressing down hard. Moving his hand faster and faster until his fingers were wet. He licked the blood off and pulled his sleeve down. The sound of sobs decreased and slowly ebbed into sniffles and whispers of words. Artemis turned around and looked at the couple. Juliet was steading herself and Holly was helping her balance. It would have been an amusing sight if the circumstances had been different. He walked over to Juliet and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Come on, lets go home." The girl jumped , a foot in the air, then calmed down when she realized who's voice it was. She nodded weakly, unable to speak comprehendible sentences. Holly bit her lip, "Do you guy minds if I spend the night? I don't think I'll be able to get a shuttle home..." Juliet looked at Artemis with pleading eye, he sighed. "Come on, lets go, all of us." Holly smiled a little and followed the two humans to a car.

It was a little after 7 when they arrived home, and it wasn't until nearly 10 that night when they would speak to one another. The elf was to stay in a guest room but Juliet offered to share her room, Artemis knew why. Juliet couldn't stand to be alone, though she'd never admit it,and Holly was more emotion-prone than Artemis. He wouldn't have to worry about being interrupted tonight. He turned and started to walk away when Juliet spoke up, "Artemis, I-i meant you too." The boy blinked and Holly looked confused, but not by much. "Please?" Artemis turned around, "Juliet..." She looked at him again, tears forming in the corners of her eyes, "Please..." Artemis sighed,"Must I?" his eyes showed no emotion. Juliet nodded, and he sighed. "I'm probably not going to sleep anyway, so what would be the point?" Juliet whimpered, and Holly glared at him. "Just do it, Artemis. Haven't you seen her cry enough today?" Artemis sighed and muttered something under his breath. He couldn't say no without hating himself more than he already did. Today was definitely not a good day for him. He walked back to them, not saying a word and keeping his eyes on the floor. _So much for not being interrupted._"Thanks Artemis," Juliet whispered, her voice soft as the flutter of a butterflies wings, "your the best, you know that?" Artemis fixed his eye guiltily on the floor. He couldn't have disagreed more if he had tried. He was a monster, he didn't deserve her kind words, her didn't deserve anything, or anybody. Not Juliet not Holly, nobody. All he deserved was pain, emptiness, and to be alone. Pain had become pleasure for him, he was addicted to it, it was his on deadly little drug. And emptiness he thrived on. Artemis' strange need for those things was only out matched by his attraction, no, obsession, with death. The girls took no notice of him, or the strange look on his face. To them, he was invisible, and that was the way he liked it. Artemis continued walking, and a wicked smile swiftly graced his face. The smile grew wider as he reached into his pocked feeling and finding what he was looking for. _Nothing out of place...perfect._ Had the girls thought to turn around they would have noticed, but they didn't. Artemis laughed at that thought, insane laughter that was more pleased than anything else, but it was not loud. Nobody heard him, he was invisible to there eyes, deaf to their ears. Holly looked back, and Artemis dropped the smile before she could notice. Holly turned back around, she had probably thought Artemis would run off at the first chance he got. She was right, of course, but he would wait until they were asleep and had no supicions, no doubts left to keep in a light sleep, footsteps wouldn't reach them. Tonight he wouldn't be followed, tonight he wouldn't be inturrupted.That insane, wicked, and almost cruel smile returned to his face along with thoughts of self destruction. "Beautiful..." Artemis whispered, but nobody noticed, nobody ever noticed.

**

* * *

hows that for a longer chapter?  
actually its almost longer than  
all the others combined  
sorry if the story has been a bit...boring?  
(lack of action and all..)  
It just that things happen too fast,  
makes me feel like I missed something.**

**please review,  
it would be appreciated.**


	6. Silk Deceit

**Recap**

Holly looked back, and Artemis dropped the smile before she could notice. Holly turned back around, she had probably thought Artemis would run off at the first chance he got. She was right, of course, but he would wait until they were asleep and had no supicions, no doubts left to keep in a light sleep, footsteps wouldn't reach them. Tonight he wouldn't be followed, tonight he wouldn't be inturrupted.That insane, wicked, and almost cruel smile returned to his face along with thoughts of self destruction. "Beautiful..." Artemis whispered, but nobody noticed, nobody ever noticed.

**End Recap**

**.-silk deceit-.**

**Fowl Manor - Dec. 4 **

**12:52  
**Juliet and Holly had fallen asleep, Juliet tangled up into an awkward version of the fetal position, and Holly sprawled out, nearly falling off the bed and at the same time being used by Juliet as a partial blanket. Artemis was propped up against the wall, he had chosen to 'sleep' on the floor, finding sharing the bed with both Holly and Juliet a bit...awkward. Holly had refused to even close her eyes until she was sure that the Mud-boy wasn't faking. Of course, he was and she fell for it despite her persistence. Artemis cracked an eye open. The only noises in the room was the sound of soft snoring and incomprehensible murmurs from Juliet's bed. Artemis got up, and walked slowly and silently to the door. The bed squeaked as Juliet turned over, altering her postion so that she face the door, and Artemis. He jumped slightly, notbecause she turned or the bed's mummur of protest, but because she whispered something extremely close to his name. Artemis slowly turned his head, looking at the sleeping form of Juliet. He had not awoken her, though he wished he had.Juliet looked dead, the only indication of life in her pale shell of a body was the slow rise and fall of her chest. He glanced at the elf, her mouth was widen open and a slight drool was at the side of her mouth, Artemis could have laughed. Despite thecomical expression masking her face Holly still managed to look peaceful, not at all like the ball of fire that he had come to know as Holly short. A slight smile tugged at the edges of his lips but he forced it down. Even as he left the room he could not shake the image from his mind, Juliet and Holly, drenched in moonlight, silent and still. Peaceful as the dead. _Or those who are about to die..._ He shook his head.

Artemis made his way to his room, and did what he set out to do. He didn't really remember exactly how or when he did what he did, the process had been mechanical, empty. Artemis looked up, his eyes cold with darkness and dispair. It seemed so bright, _too_ bright. How could so much light be produce by a mere sliver of a moon? Everything had become chrome by its touch, the room, the boy, the blood. Artemis was tired, he didn't whether it was from blood loss or exhaustion. Maybe it was both or something else entirely. Artemis lied on the floor, unable to move. He had fucked his wrists up pretty badly, but not bad enough to kill him, but enough to lose some blood, a lot of blood actually. Darkness over took his vision, and the world was a blur that faded away, slowly being eaten, till nothingness, till darkness once again ruled the night. Artemis let out a pleased sigh. If anyone had been around to hear it, they would have thought the boy had gone completely insane. Maybe they would have been right.

/--/--/-/--/----------

It was bright, too bright and blurred, everything was mixing together in an endless pattern. The world had transformed into a water-color painting, drowned in a shallow tide. Artemis squinted through the fog of light but it did nothing, he felt sick. Snow, faint snow falling from the ever-elusive heavens, spiraling down in the wind's white noise. He was shivering, and yet he was not cold. The boy only grasp about half of what was happening. _"Artemis..."_ that voice, why was it calling him? _"Don't worry..." _There was something wrong with the snow, it wasn't white...

--------/----/---/-/--/

**3:07**  
Artemis awoke, laden with sweat and a strong sense of déjà vous. He held his head in his hands, he felt sick. The room was spinning, blackness teasing his vision with shadows. Artemis gathered what scraps of the dream he could. Artemis tried to mesh the pieces together, and wasn't exactly succeeding, all he had managed to retain was a blurry images. And snow, for some reason that one word seemed overly ominous. Artemis sighed, these remnents of his dream were completely random and he couldn't get them to make any sense what-so-ever. It didn't fit, it was too fragmented. He forced these thoughts to the back of his head, knowing the task of remembering would be like solving a jig-saw puzzle when over half the peices are missing. Hopeless.Artemis looked around, finally realizing that he was in his room, and that the sun had not risen yet. Juliet and Holly were still asleep...and that was good why? Suddenly, remembering what he did, Artemis smiled and groaned simultaneously. Two conflicting emotions merging together, rather disturbing to experience and an odd combination to see. Artemis stood up, he need a bath, too much blood. His shirt was ruined, nothing could undo the damage that had been done. He pulled it off and replaced it with a similar one, nobody would notice. At least his jeans had remained mostly untouched, at least he wouldn't have to fix that too. He through it under his bed, making a mental note to burn it when he got the chance, less risk that way. Artemis washed the dry blood off his arm and tried to removed the stain on the floor, or at least make it as subtle as possible. Artemis' form of washing was looked more like he was trying to compact the rug than remove a stain from it. So much anger (or maybe it was hatred?) was poured into his work that the area became a faint outline of what was once a bloody mess, the friction used in its removal made it hot to the touch. Content with his work--or rather he realized that it would not get better after sitting for so long and that further attempts were pointless--, he pulled on his jacket that he had taken off early that night in favor of easy pain, and headed for Juliet's room, hoping they hadn't woken up and seen...him.

Artemis held his breath, unknowingly of course, and slowly open the door. It creaked and Artemis winced. _Please be asleep... _He slid through the opening, and shut the door. Juliet was sitting up, rubbing her eyes. _Shit. (Artemis' ever famous, over used word-of-thought)_Artemis blinked, his eye twitching slightly, _Well I'm losing it._ "Artemis...?" Juliet said, sleep evident in her voice. Holly stirred. _Okay, so I'm screwed and insane, well isn't that lovely, friends and neighbors?...friends and neighbors, where did I hear that one..._"Its still dark out, don't you ever sleep in mud-boy?" Holly sounded annoyed, tired, it was likely that she'd bite his head off for the littlest thing. He retained his emotionless demeanor. "No, I don't Miss Short, as I have said before, I usually don't sleep at all." That much was true, though he had been sleeping a lot during the past few weeks for his usually insomniac self. She glared at him though there was nothing behind it. Her hazel eyes held nothing but sadness and that bothered Artemis. "Well, how am _I_ supposed to sleep with you lurking around?" Juliet laughed, well a muffled-giggled would be a better way to word it, "You guys are pretty funny, I bet people would pay to see you two fight." Artemis lowered his gazed to the smiling blonde, thinking she must still be half asleep and delirious at that. Holly rolled her eyes, "Well, whatever. If you guys don't mind, I'm going to raid the fridge." Artemis could still see the sadness in both of their eyes, even though they tried to hide it. Juliet followed her, simply adding "Me too." She looked at Artemis and smiled, but it was laced with sadness. "Come on Artemis." He sighed, but made no further protest. He wouldn't eat but he'd stay with them.

Nobody spoke for the duration of the meal, until Holly decided to make herself known. She slammed her fist into the table making it shake, "Would somebody please say something?" Artemis looked at Holly, who was glaring at the table. Juliet just sat there staring at her food. Artemis sighed, this was beginning to annoy him. "Something." Both of the girls looked up at him, and Juliet let out a burst of laughter. Holly followed soon after. The laughter became tears and finally a content, what-could-almost-be-called-silence. They no longer seemed to be carrying as much of the great weight that had been placed upon them earlier, it was as if the weight of the world had lessened considerably. Artemis just sat there looking confused_,What the hell just happened--did I do that?_ The two girls smiled and wiped tears from their eyes. Holly tried to hide the fact that she had been crying, whereas Juliet just looked embarrassed and tried to shrug it off._ Typical._ Artemis smiled, then wiped it from his face, he was Artemis Fowl II, he did not smile. _Now who was typical? _Artemis scowled at his thought and considered telling himself to shut up, but blinked at how insane that sounded and, impulsively, bashed his head into the table, gaining himself two strange stares from the other end of the table.

**4:47**  
The morning's mock-twilight began to appear.

* * *

**yah...sorry about the long gap,  
but it shouldn't happen again.  
I think.  
Anyway I hope you like this chapter,  
diminutive as it may be...  
Please reveiw**


	7. Repeats, Suck

**Recap  
  
**The two girls smiled and wiped tears from their eyes. Holly tried to hide the fact that she had been crying, whereas Juliet just looked embarrassed and tried to shrug it off._ Typical._ Artemis smiled, then wiped it from his face, he was Artemis Fowl II, he did not smile. _Now who was typical? _Artemis scowled at his thought and considered telling himself to shut up, but blinked at how insane that sounded and, impulsively, bashed his head into the table, gaining himself two strange stares from the other end of the table.

**4:47**  
The morning's mock-twilight began to appear.

**End Recap **

**.-Repeats, Suck-.**

**Fowl Manor- Tuesday Dec. 5.  
5:00  
**Artemis sighed and pulled one of his numerous designer suits, glad that he did not have to wear street clothes today. Today he would be left alone, well he _hoped_ he'd be left alone. And he would be, just as soon as Holly went home and Juliet...went back to sleep. Artemis seriously doubted the girl would be able to keep awake much longer, considering the stress she had suffered. That and the undeniable fact the Juliet was _not_ a morning person. Artemis looked out the window and sighed, the weather was getting worse. Not only was it raining so hard that it threatened to flood, but it was hailing aswell. _Hail, ice rain and hail. Oh, what lovely weather we're having...Its been week over a now and we've only had one sunny day..._

**6:00  
**"Artemis, I know that this isn't the best time, for either of us, but I really need you help with this one." _Holly. She left and the second she gets home she finds a new way to--_"Mudboy are you listening to me?"--_interrupt._ Artemis sighed, "What do you need to know Ms. Short?" She made a face when he called her Ms. Short but said nothing on the matter. "Look, recently there was a...bombing-" Artemis blinked, "They're using bombs?" Holly sighed. "Yes, stolen technology-" "Stolen? Ms. Short I belive you have left out a few details on the innerworkings of these gang wars." Holly glared at him. They went back and forth like that for about--  
**  
7:24**  
--and hour or so until Holly finally lost her temper and destroyed her communicator. Artemis smiled. _I guess Ms Short won't be asking for my help anytime soon._  
**  
Wednesday Dec. 6  
2:35**  
Juliet was staring oddly at Artemis, it made him feel like he had grown a second head. "What?" Juliet raised and eyebrow, "You were talking about trees..." Artemis stared at her, "Trees...?" "Yes, you said," Juliet alter her voice to sound emotionless, "The trees look like gods, which is what we must look like to ants, then what are trees to ants?" Juliet paused, "And then I said 'Giants?' and you, you laughed and said," She changed her voice again, "No, not giant...Titans." Artemis raised his eyebrows. "I think I would remember saying something so..." Juliet finished the sentence for him, "Random?" "Yes, Juliet you must have been day dreaming. That is not something I would say." Juliet sighed and nodded. _Its something she said to me... _Artemis stopped short, his eyes wide and his face pale. Juliet looked back to see what was keeping him, "Artemis?"  
**  
Thursday Dec.7  
**  
Nothing worth noting happened on Thursday.

* * *

**Yes I know,  
very, very short.**


	8. Space

**Recap**

Juliet finished the sentence for him, "Random?" "Yes, Juliet you must have been day dreaming. That is not something I would say." Juliet sighed and nodded. _Its something she said to me... _Artemis stopped short, his eyes wide and his face pale. Juliet looked back to see what was keeping him, "Artemis?"  
**  
Thursday Dec.7  
**  
Nothing worth noting happened on Thursday.

**End recap**

**.-Space-.**  
**  
**

** Friday Dec.8**  
** 1:15**  
_"A'temis, you think too much, I know because I do that too. One day we're both going to think ourselves into oblivion. Now won't that be fun?" A smile stretched into view. An eleven year-old Artemis Fowl gave a strange look to the person walking beside him, although he could not see the_ (girl's)_ person's face. "I do not think to much, and how would oblivion be fun?" The girl shook her head. "I didn't think you'd need to ask, are you not supposed to be a 'genius' or something?" She made air quotes around the word genius. Artemis glared at her, "I am begining to think that you're delusional, and yes I am a genius. Also, my name is Artemis, not Awtemis or what ever it was you just said." Laughter. It filled the air and suffocated his voice, __trapp--_

**4:26  
**--ed him inside his head, stupid dreams, pointless dreams. _No, not dreams memorys._ Artemis scoffed at this thought, if it had been a memory he would have known the strange girl, but he didn't so it couldn't have been a memory _Then why did it seem familiar? _Artemis shrugged his shoulders, dreams were not supposed to make sense. _Great, first dreams that have no purpose but to annoy me and now I'm arguing with myself._ He walked over to his closet seeing no point in trying to go back to sleep. As he opened the door and shuffled through the many suits and shirts he had (though he would have prefered only having the suits it made him feel a bit out of place at the school he was forced into, his parents said he needed to 'socialize') he realized something a bit strange. Everything he owned (save for a dress shirt that he had received as a gift and a few pairs of jeans lying on the closet floor; he made a mental note to pick them up later) was black, even his shoes. It was like he wore shadows instead of clothing. That earned a rather disturbing smile, however slight it may have been, from the boy. After all, he basically _lived _in the shadows. Looking over the contents of the closet the boy's smiled transformed into a smirk;; Black suited him just fine. No, better than fine, perfect.

Absolutely perfect.

* * *

**Je regrette.  
I am having a serious case of writes block  
So that is all I got.**


	9. Obscure As Crystalline

** Recap  
**

Everything he owned (save for a dress shirt that he had received as a gift and a few pairs of jeans lying on the closet floor; he made a mental note to pick them up later) was black, even his shoes. It was like he wore shadows instead of clothing. That earned a rather disturbing smile, however slight it may have been, from the boy. After all, he basically _lived _in the shadows. Looking over the contents of the closet the boy's smiled transformed into a smirk;; Black suited him just fine. No, better than fine, perfect.

Absolutely perfect.

**End Recap**

**.-Obscure As Crystalline-.  
**_"The lot of man — to suffer and to die."_

**Fowl Manor - Tuesday 13 Dec.  
3:15  
**_  
There was light in this place, and a feeling of exposure. Not necessarily a bad one though. The sky went on forever only interupted by the naked trees. Though he couldn't see it, he knew that there were buildings behind him. There was a girl waving at him, beckoning him forward, but he did not move. The girl __titled her head, and moved her lips as if to form words, but they did not reach his ears. She stepped onto the tar--  
_

--------/----/---/-/--/

Artemis woke up cold, crying, and gasping for air. He barely had time to regain his breath when a jolt of pain rushed through his head. It felt like someone was hammering rusty nails into his temple as his head imploded under the weight of his dream. He would have preferred a slow suffocation. The boy didn't even realize that he was biting his lip until he tasted blood. "Shit." He stood up shakily and stumbled a few feet before he gave up on walking and collapsed. _Its just a dream Artemis, get a hold of yourself. A pointless, meaningless dream. Just a girl, walking. Get a grip. _The boy winced and attempted to push the images away. He wouldn't let some dream cause him to consume him, he was Artemis Fowl after all. It would take more than a nightmare to brake him. The boy struggled with standing and eventually made his way to his closet, all the while assuring himself that he would figure everything out when he wasn't half asleep and when his mental hurricane had passed. If it ever passed.  
He knew it wouldn't.

**Haven - same day, three hours prior.**

The flash of a high-tech and extremely compact camera light up the scene, showering every detail with unforgiving and unnatural light. Blood coated the road, and a headless corpse was propped against the side of the building. Its clothes were torn, revealing the horrific mutilation of the mans lower torso and pelvic regions. To its side lay a narcissus.  
"Another gang killing?" Mulch inquired wrinkling his nose.   
"No, those killings are random, whenever they have the chance to attack an enemy. This, this had to have been planned out. Somebody not only wanted this man dead--but they wanted to humiliate him as well" Holly picked up the small flower and offered a dry laugh.  
"How cliche, we have a murderer with a calling card."  
Mulch sighed, "This is gonna be a long night.

* * *

******blehhhk.  
sorry about the long wait.  
truly, i am.  
blame, if you need something to blame,  
DRAMA. and peoples need to cause it ----**

******again, my deepest apologies.**

******oh, and.  
one thing about the clothes;;  
he wears both suits and emo clothes and is comfortable _in both_****  
but prefer suits because he was basically raised in them  
and the clothes, music, ect. came into play when his parents transferred him to a public school because they wanted to keep an eye on him;; the whole legit thing. (said transfer happened about a year before this story takes place, so he picked up the style over a reasonable amount of time.)**

******k? (:  
****  
**


	10. The Effects of Hatred

**Recap**

"...Somebody not only wanted this man dead--but they wanted to humiliate him as well" Holly picked up the small flower and offered a dry laugh.  
"How cliche, we have a murderer with a calling card."  
Mulch sighed, "This is gonna be a long night.

**End Recap**

******-The Effects of Hatred-**

******The Zombie House - Tuesday Dec. 13**  
**11:45**  
The stereos we pounding in sequence, the bass flowing loudly behind the rest of the melody. A fog of some kind had filled the room. Probably smoke, one more for death by cancer, or brain damage. As always was the scenes of these underground 'raves', if that was what you called them. Artemis did not know, nor did he care, he came because Juliet said he need to live alittle, have some fun. And he had heard that this type of place, a club if you will, was were to go if you wanted that. Though, his sources could have been wrong, he wouldn't have been able to fairly make that judgement.

Most people were doing something that could almost be called _dancing_, but it was closer to insane thrashing and wrecklessly bouncing around. Artemis was pretty sure that much of what went on here was less than proper. The stench of sweat and drugs was potent in this room. The oddly colored lights flashed endlessly, making the motions of the people below seem even more misshapened and dragged out. It was almost hypnotic...

_tension around the throat,  
makes the bad times go away,  
images of a bullet,  
let me last another day.  
_  
The lyrics washed over him, hearing but not really listening, he began to realize why the people were moving so choatically. It was supposed to do that, to make you loose control. Not something he was used to and not necessarily something he liked, but it was something he could live with. Maybe Juliet was on to something, not much but someting nun-the-less

_make shift blue noose;  
but baby it cant be loose.  
you say you wanna swim,  
so dive right the fuck on in._  
_  
_...wait, what?

**Haven**_  
_Another dead, same manor as the first. Same calling card, same stupid flower. The latest man, the third in total to have this type of death, had been a a bit of a nobody, he led a simple life and minded his own business. Holly wondered if the old man even had a family left for his funeral expenses. She began to think that maybe, these deaths weren't about getting back at these people, maybe it was something much more sinister than that. She shook her head and when back to taking notes, the only disturbance was the light from mulch's camera and the sounds of the city.

"Holly, you don't think this is for..." Began the Dwarf. But he wouldn't bring himself to finish. "For fun, do you?" The elf stood silently staring at the body, chewing on her bottom lip. Her eyes were lock to the ground, deeply concentrating, perhaps on something that lay hidden beneath them. "I think," She stated, ever-so solemnly, "that thats a strong possiblility."  
_  
melody of madness  
and your god keeps on trukin'  
like a redneck fucker,  
what the hell am i talkin' bout-  
about mindless machines,  
and highway death scenes.  
oh baby mayhem,  
this is exactly what it seems._

"Let hope its not the right one."

* * *

******blehkkkk.  
xxx********  
**


	11. Black Ink Guilt

**recap::**

"Holly, you don't think this is for..." Began the Dwarf. But he wouldn't bring himself to finish. "For fun, do you?" The elf stood silently staring at the body, chewing on her bottom lip. Her eyes were lock to the ground, deeply concentrating, perhaps on something that lay hidden beneath them. "I think," She stated, ever-so solemnly, "that thats a strong possiblility."

"Let hope its not the right one."

**end recap::**

**-black ink guilt**-

******The Zombie House - Wednesday Dec. 14**  
**00:01**

"So, this stuff really works?" The booming of speakers could be heard many floors below, but they were above, and in this building sound could not move upwards. Artemis stared coldly at the small and rather fat man sitting at the far end of the table, waiting for a reply. It was only a matter a seconds befor he got his awnser of course, but he didn't really enjoy waiting that long.  
The tiny man smiled, revaling many crooked and blackened yellow teeth. "It does if you can afford it, but its safe to assume that someone like you would have no trouble in affording something as trivial as this." the man spoke with a thick seemingly romanian accent jumbled the words up a bit, but his meaning was understood. "I assure you Mr. Fowl, you money will be well spent."  
"So," The boy broke from his usually monotoned way of speaking, and reveal what could almost be called relief, "This is going to help me remember?"  
The man leaned back and smiled, "But of course, it will take time for the mixture to ripen but it will work. There will however be some minor side effects, but nothing too serious, do not concern yourself."  
"What kind of side effects?" the boy raised an accusing eyebrow.  
Silence followed, the short man shifted uneasily, not wanting to lose another client, knowing that this boy would not be easily decived. "In these, how do you say, magics," he stated slowly, pronouncing magics as majieks. "there is always a price. That is why human magics are not often practiced, they are much darker than the other kinds. But," the man pulled out a vial, filled with a metalic blue liquid. "why would you come to me if you could use those?" Artemis payed the man in full, and held the vial up to the light,  
"Why indeed." The boy pocketed the vial and proceeded to exit the room, having no futher buisness with this man or his establishment.  
"Of course you know boy, you cannot choose what you remember, you get everything the good and the bad, and there is no going back!" the man looked from side to side, and added quickly, "No refunds." The door was slammed and locked, and the boy was no longer welcome here.

******Fowl manor- Wednesday Dec. 14**  
**00:52**

"Oh, whats taking that insipid mudboy so long?" The dwarf growned, "We've been waiting for hours." "Calm down, you complaining isn't...did you just say insipid?" The elf looked at her hairy companion with widened eyes. "Yeah so, its word." The dwarf said arms crossed. "I think." The elf rolled her eyes. "It is, it just sounds weird coming out of your mouth." The dwarf muttered angrily, or maybe he was just annoyed, as Juliet came into the room, hold two steaming caffinated beverages. "Sorry about the wait guys, he usually isn't out this late." Juliet smiled nervously, "Well, he's always here when I wake up anyway." The girls smile turned into a frown. "I'm a horrible guardian."  
Holly shook her head, "No your not, Artemis just has listening problems." Having had there backs turned to the door, they did not see the boy enter, and being wrapped up in their conversation, the only one who heard the door close was mulch.  
"Well look who decided to show up." Everyone turned their heads to the boy. He looked worn, his eyes were empty and tired, and his face appeared fade and gray. He smiled his trademark vampire smile and turned to speak, of course being cut off, not like anything he said was of value anyway.  
"Artemis you idiot, I was worried about you." Juliet ran up to him and hugged him, this gained her a peculiar look from the boy. "No, you weren't, and if you were its only cause they showed up." He guestered to the detectives.  
"Thats not true." Juliet said, the tone of her voice was stressed, a bit hard to firgure out how she meant that.  
"Yes, it is, I'm always out, you never cared before." He offered a dry laugh. "Doesn't matter though. It'd be a waste of energy to worry about me. So Ms. Short, to what do I owe the pleasure?"  
Holly brushed some imaginary dirt off her clothes, "Right, right. Straight to buisness as usual. I--"  
"You need my help with that case of yours? The rash of murders." Vampire smile, as usual. God that was creepy.  
"Yes," she started. "Now the kill-"  
"Sorry Ms. Short, but I can't help you, I'm not a murder, and I don't know much about how they act." The boy stared coolly at the elf, who sighed before offering a response.  
"I know your not a murder, but you are a criminal master mind, and this is a criminal, and I need to know how these murders are connected."  
The boy laughed, "Have you considered the possiblility that these killings are random?" The elf said nothing, but her eyes told him that she had, "Of course you have, but you just want me to prove that to be false, because if they're random, then its an act of pleasure, not hate, and something that dark must scare you to no end, am I correct Ms. short?"  
The elf glared at the boy, "Your only half right, yes I would like for you to prove me wrong, but if you can't and we really do have someone that sick lurking in haven, then your probably the only intelligent person who would belive me, everyone else will deny it until they're the ones being attacked. And if they can't admit it then they'll be looking in the wrong place and this guy will just keep killing. Look I don't have much but I'll pay you, if you help me. And don't call me Ms. Short."  
Artemis smiled, entwining his fingers, "So, whats the body count."

* * *

**short, badly written.  
my apologies, i've been busy.**


End file.
